If you missed the last start of Roger Clemens' Redford-esque career in Game Four of the World Series in 2003 (Yankees), or the last start of his shining career on October 22nd of 2005 in the World Series against the White Sox, don't worry about it. The latest "Last Start" of Roger Clemens' career is today, March 10th, 2006, when he takes on the lowly South African Squad in what has become a very exciting World Baseball Classic. If you miss this one because of the unfortunate 2:00PM start time, don't worry about that either. The next "last start" of the legendary Rocket is tentatively scheduled for October.
John's next start is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, in Brenham, Texas. He has been having a lot of success of late. But, he's getting to be a sort of 13-year-old David Wells. Wells takes a beer-and-cigarettes approach to conditioning and training. But, its the corpulent righty's obscene ability that has made him successful. "Papa John" has been doing it with game-day effort like Wells, while taking the off-week preparation casually. The sad truth of it is this: neither Wells nor Papa John can have the kind of tenure at the highest level that the Rocket has had if they don't commit to their preparation. (This is not to say that John hasn't been hitting the crap out of the baseball lately. He has been tough with a bat in his hand in the past month and a half.)
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Complacency - n - com·pla·cen·cy A feeling of contentment or self-satisfaction, especially when coupled with an unawareness of danger, trouble, or controversy
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If John doesn't have a great pitching performance tomorrow, it may be for the best. He really has potential to be good. But, as they say in the Oklahoma Sooners' weight room, "Hard Work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." The occasional stumble might reinforce that pearl of wisdom.
Bonus: Since you're doing your homework, and checking my blog, I'm going to help raise your Baseball IQ. Roger Clemens has the most career wins in the "Live Ball Era". Most folks think that after 1920 (start of the Live-Ball Era), the construction of the baseball changed. In fact, the construction remained constant. But, the rules of professional baseball changed to help hitters. Prior to 1920, professional baseball re-used foul balls. This gave players plenty of opportunity to scuff the ball for the pitcher. Since that time, foul balls have been replaced. So, pitchers had to ostensibly play fair.
